Night Life
by sleepyaugustus
Summary: When the go and get hungry, the hungry go to Wal-Mart. :: Pipabeth "friendship" written for pjowriters on tumblr


**PROMPT** : " _Okay here we go. The "uh oh we ran out of chips and instant noodle time for an emergency trip to the grocery store at 1AM IN THE MORNING. and only one of us gets to sit in the shopping cart " AU por favor :)_ " - firebenderannabeth (tumblr)

* * *

"Oh shit, no way."

Annabeth turns from her spot on the couch, where she's been lazily flipping through channels for the last two hours instead of sleeping like a normal person at one o'clock in the morning. "What?" She asks her roommate, who's got her nose in the cabinets of their small kitchenette, carelessly tossing bags of raisins and coffee filters over her shoulder.

"There's no way we're out of chips. No."

"Piper," Annabeth sighs, dropping the remote on the cushion beside her and giving her full attention this time. "You finished off the Doritos for lunch."

The girl blinks, dropping her arms to her sides and facing Annabeth. "Dude, you're right. I totally did."

"I know."

Piper frowns, disappointed, then moves to scrounge the cabinets again. "Okay, but what about the Ramen? When did I mysteriously put that away?"

Holding back a smile, Annabeth adjusts the hem of her tank top as she stands from her seat. "You polished that off last week when we ran out of sandwich bread."

"Well, poop," Piper mutters dejectedly, slumping against their laminate countertops. Annabeth smiles and floats around the island barrier between them, laying her head against the Cherokee's shoulder. "Past Piper always screws Future Piper over."

With a small coo, Annabeth places a peck on her best friend's cheek. "Are you really that surprised?"

Piper only mumbles under her breath in response. Charmed, Annabeth laughs softly and tugs her forward. "We could go to Wal-Mart. Twenty-four hours. I'll even let you pick the dip this time."

Feigning shock, Piper stumbles. "The _dip_? Are you sure you're ready to give up that kind of control?"

A look as dry as Piper's hair during the winter months crosses Annabeth's face and she pulls her keys from the hook by the door, grumbling, "Shut up and get in the car."

* * *

"Wait, hold on, hold on," Piper pants as she tugs on the shopping cart Annabeth just selected from the corral.

"What?" the blond asks, halting as Piper hikes a foot over the side of her cart and hauls herself inside with a low grunt. Settled back with her legs hanging out over the end, she smiles triumphantly.

"Onward, lackey."

Annabeth moves her hands to her hips, jutting out her bottom lip. "What if I wanted to ride?"

"You can next time," Piper brushes off, facing forward proudly as if preparing herself to lead a voyage into the dark depths of the frozen pizza aisle.

"But I don't want to haul your bubble butt around this store. It's a _supercenter_ , Piper." Argument standing strong, Annabeth begins to lift herself into the cart as well, before her friend pushes her out easily.

"Dude if you get in, who's gonna push us? Take one for the team."

"We could get one of the cart chasers to push us."

"They don't get paid enough to deal with customers like us. Even if we slipped them a Benny."

Annabeth mulls this over. "Fair enough," she relents with a disappointed sigh. "But next time you are so giving me a joyride."

Smiling slyly, Piper winks and says, "When we get home, babe. Promise."

Rolling her eyes, Annabeth heaves her precious cargo over to the groceries, scanning each hanging sign for the words she was looking for. She nods to herself as aisle nine comes into view: _Chips, Cookies, Crackers_.

" _Wee!_ " Piper squeals when her best friend swings her around the corner and into their selected row of merchandise. The shelves are stocked with brightly colored bags and cheap cardboard boxes, all filled with delicious, calorie-saturated food. "All of it. Annabeth, I want it all."

"Hush," Annabeth answered instead, leaving the cart to pick up a tube of Pringles from an advertising end-cap. She knocked Piper's knees out of the way next as she stepped in front of the cart to reach for a box of Triscuits.

"Those shorts make your ass look fab," Piper notices, using her sandalled foot to tap her friend's tush.

"Piper, stop touching me."

"No."

"It's harassment."

"Not when you're into it."

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Annabeth mutters, "I can't take you anywhere, can I?" Her best friend only smiles.

"What kind of dip do you want? I've got Tostitos and Ruffles…"

"Damn. We're gonna feast."

Annabeth shrugs. "Or stock up in the case of a certain music major's munchies."

"Nice allegory."

"Alliteration," Annabeth corrects with a half-hearted eyeroll.

Piper pauses, blinking. "I'm still a little drunk from dinner wine," she admits as an excuse. "I want Heluva Good and Salsa."

Pushing the cart forward, Annabeth pulls up to the refrigerated dips and sauces at the end of the aisle. "Anything else?"

"Nacho cheese? Extra hot."

"You overestimate your stomach capacity."

"You underestimate my hunger."

Shrugging in acceptance, Annabeth places the items in the cart beside Piper's limbs. "What's next?"

"Instant noodles." She grins, jerking her body back-and-forth in attempt to move the cart. A middle aged woman in a navy vest shuffles past, peering down the lane and glancing at the two girls once before shrugging and moving forward.

Annabeth jumps to grab the handles before her best friend has the chance to knock herself over and get them kicked out of the store. "Bro, chill out."

"Time is of the essence. My hunger grows every moment we remain stationary."

The blond shakes her head. " _Drunk, my ass_."

Once they've stocked a 24-pack box of chicken-flavored Ramen under the cart, Annabeth's eyes are lidded and her knees ache. "Are we ready to go now? I'm tired."

"What? C'mon, wimp. I want hit up Taco Bell, too."

With wide eyes and a broken composure, Annabeth's voice cracks. "Piper, that- that just won't fit inside you." Catching her mistake, she rushes to correct herself. "The fo-"

"I beg to differ, Annabeth. You'd be surprised what I'm capable of," Piper responds sultrily, fluttering her eyelashes. "Anyway, you're the one who wanted to stock up."

"You'll be the death of me, McLean. I swear to God."

"Not before I'm the love of your life, sweetcheeks. Now push me to self check-out. I don't need anyone to watch me struggle getting out of this thing."

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 **thanks to somethingmorecreative for beta'ing! love you rach :) hope you guys liked the pipabeth!**


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